Anybody and everybody, young and old, can benefit from a yoga holiday at
La Buissière.
We use classical Hatha yoga postures combined with breathing
practices and relaxation to help you stretch, unwind and release mental and physical
tension. It is totally non-competitive, following the principle that you
only work within your own limits of comfort. As a remedial tool yoga has
many proven benefits, particularly in relation to stress and helping to strengthen and rebalance the
body and mind.
Pierrette, our resident
teacher, normally holds 3 classes of yoga per week. Over the years
Pierrette has developed her teaching into a caring and gentle method suitable for both beginners and
as 'holiday maintenance' for regular practitioners. A CD is now available as an introduction to
Yoga with Pierrette.
You may also find the following answers helpful in deciding if a yoga holiday at
La Buissière is right for you:
Why do we practice Hatha yoga?
Although several different branches of yoga have
been imported to the west, Hatha yoga remains the original and most popular form. Hatha yoga is truly
“holistic”, based on the fact that the body and mind have a great effect
on each other - control of the body with specific postures (asanas),
coupled with focused breathing exercises (pranayamas), to promote a still
and peaceful mind. It is also considered to be amongst the safest as
it is not competitive and the degree and duration that postures are held
varies according to the individual’s body type and comfort. Consequently
Hatha yoga is suitable for all ages and all levels of experience.
Will it make a difference that I currently practice another style of yoga?
With so many different types of yoga available these days, you may be more
familiar with a slightly different approach. Although the main
alternatives such as Iyengar, astanga and sivananda have their own style
and focus, they all have the same basic hatha yoga root and provided you
keep an open mind you will have no difficulty in adapting. You may find
that we place more emphasis on the breath or that we hold some of the
postures longer than you are used to, with longer rest periods in between
for the body to assimilate what it has just learned.
Why yoga on alternate days, and not every day?
First and foremost you are on holiday and a session on alternate days is usually
enough to feel the benefits and still allow plenty of time to make the
most of your stay at La Buissière, whether walking, sightseeing or
relaxing. The physical and mental benefits of yoga are cumulative, usually resulting
from many months or years of regular practice; and your body may not
adjust well to a week or two of “intensive” yoga, particularly if you
are not already a regular and experienced practitioner. We want our
visitors to leave with a happy and positive memory of the experience, and
return home with a desire to continue and deepen their practice.
Can I do yoga even if my body is very stiff?
There are many misconceptions surrounding yoga. One being that you need a
young, supple body to achieve the extreme postures shown in many of the
images used to promote yoga, usually the result of many years of
continuous practice. This is hardly realistic for most students and can,
in fact, alienate them because they do not fit the "mould". Besides, yoga
is not just about being flexible. It is about creating and maintaining
inner balance and vitality; about maximizing your full potential. Anyone
who wants to practise yoga can enjoy the many positive benefits. If your
body is out of shape you should practice gently at first taking care not
to create any injuries. Practice the postures as well as you can breathing
deeply and rhythmically, keeping yourself relaxed and concentrated. And
remember, by practicing you will become flexible.
